Olympics: Mexico choose mixed team in advance of ranking round

Alejandra Valencia and Matias Grande will shoot the mixed team round at Paris 2024, regardless of how the ranking round results play out.

The Mexican coaches decided this several weeks previously after Mexico’s men, featuring Grande, qualified a full men’s team quota at the ArcheryinParis Final Olympic Qualifier, alongside a set of impressive results for the pair over the past year which has seen both athletes consistently rank as the highest in the nation.

“This is not like I’m gonna rest in the qualification. I’m going to push hard,” said Grande. “I am going to work hard, because I hope this is not my first and last Olympics.”

“This is like the final exam for it. It’s the last opportunity to keep doing all the things, to keep improving and if it’s positive we are gonna shoot the mixed team, unless someone is injured of course.”

Normally, the mixed team consists of the top male and female qualifiers of each country, however, national teams are allowed to name any male and female pairing entered into the competition.

Deciding on the mixed team in advance has happened before occasionally in international competition, but perhaps not at an Olympics. 

This is of course assuming that they qualify, as the mixed team round is the only Olympic archery event that has a ‘cut’; with only 16 of the 27 possible teams going through to matchplay. However, both Alejandra and Matias are likely to be among the top qualifiers individually, which set the mixed team places.

Alejandra and Matias have already achieved some impressive results as a mixed team this season. The pairing won gold at the Yecheon 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup, and have not placed below fourth in international competition since August last year.

The team of Valencia and Luis Alvarez also won a bronze medal in the same event at Tokyo.

The Mexico squad here – wearing a national kit which nods to the design of the Mexico 1968 Olympic Games – is one of the strongest ever assembled and they will be targeting medals in all events.

The mixed team is likely to be at the top of that list.